ai4bharat/Pralekha huggingface dataset:
Ministry of Defence
Book Release - ‘Blue Waters Ahoy!’ Chronicling the Indian Navy’s History from 2001-10
Admiral Sunil Lanba, PVSM, AVSM, ADC Chief of the Naval Staff, released a book titled ‘Blue Waters Ahoy!’ – chronicling the Indian Navy’s History from 2001-10. The unveiling was a part of an At Home function held at the Navy House in the presence of His Excellency, Sh. Ramnath Kovind, the President of India and the Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces. A large number of dignitaries from both India and abroad were present at the function. The Indian Navy celebrates Navy Day every year on 04 December 2018 to commemorate its offensive actions during the 1971 war.
The book has been authored by Vice Admiral Anup Singh, who retired as the Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief of Eastern Naval Command in 2011. This is, in fact, the sixth volume of the Navy’s history; the first five having covered the period from 1945 to 2000. This unique undertaking by the Indian Navy can be traced back to 1968, when the Service established a History Cell. The idea was collation and subsequent analysis of historical data relevant to the evolution of the Navy. Generally, each such volume has covered the period of a decade, and it has been a tradition to release it on the occasion of Navy Day.
Ministry of Defence
Defence PSUs, OFB pitch in to fight against COVID-19
Defence Public Sector Undertakings  and Ordnance Factory Board  of Ministry of Defence  have pitched in to shore up the national fight against COVID-19.
Medical Facilities
The OFB has planned for 280 isolation beds across 10 hospitals spread over six states in the country. They are located at Vehicle Factory Jabalpur, Metal and Steel Factory Ishapore , Gun and Shell Factory Cossipore , Ammunition Factory Khadki , Ordnance Factory Kanpur , Ordnance Factory Khamaria, Heavy Vehicle Factory Avadi  and Ordnance Factory Medak .
Hindustan Aeronautics Limited  Bengaluru has isolation ward facility with three beds in Intensive Care Unit and 30 beds in wards. In addition, a building having 30 rooms was readied. In all, 93 persons can be accommodated at HAL facility.
The OFB has manufactured and dispatched 50 specialised tents for COVID-19 patients to Government of Arunachal Pradesh at a short notice.
Sanitiser
Development and production of hand sanitiser as per WHO standards have been undertaken in the factories of OFB. They have received a requirement of 13,000 litres from HLL Lifecare Limited , the nodal agency appointed by Government of India for centralised procurement. First lot of 1,500 litres of sanitiser was sent on Mar 31, 2020 from Cordite Factory Aruvankadu . Two more factories, namely Ordnance Factory  Itarsi  and OF Bhandara  are ready with bulk production. Together they have capacity to produce 3000 litres of sanitiser per day to meet the national requirement.
Protective Equipment: Coverall and Masks
Ordnance Equipment Factories located at Kanpur, Shahjahanpur, Hazratpur  and Chennai are engaged in developing coverall and masks. They have also arranged special heat sealing machines for manufacture of these garments at a very short notice.
Factories Board requested Defence Research & Development Establishment, Gwalior and was successful in getting the first of samples of coveralls tested at Gwalior. Testing of masks will continue to be done at South India Textile Research Association  in Coimbatore. The OFB is commencing shortly bulk production of coveralls up to 5,000 to 6,000 pieces per week. Three machines have been developed which have been approved by SITRA for testing the efficacy of coveralls and masks. These will be used in production to maintain the standards.
Ventilators
Bharat Electronics Limited  has stepped in at the request of Ministry Health and Family Welfare to manufacture and supply 30,000 ventilators for ICUs within the next two months. The design of these ventilators was originally developed by Defence Research and Development Organisation, which was improved upon by M/s Skanray, Mysore, with whom BEL has collaborated. Ordnance Factory, Medak has undertaken repair of ventilators in various hospitals in Hyderabad.
ABB/SS/Nampi/KA/DK/Savvy/ADA
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Prime Minister's Office
Press release on Prime Minister’s Meeting with Belgian Prime Minister on the margins of 74th Session of UNGA
Prime Minister Narendra Modi met Prime Minister of Belgium Mr. Charles Michel on the sidelines of the High Level Segment of the 74th Session of the UNGA in New York on 25th September 2019.
PM Modi congratulated PM Charles Michel on his election as the President of the European Council.
Both leaders reviewed the excellent relations between India and Belgium and the follow up decisions taken during the visit of His Majesty the King of Belgium to India in 2017.
They discussed intensification of strategic and security relations between India and the EU. They agreed to intensify their efforts on early conclusion of negotiations on the Bilateral Investment and Trade Agreement, connectivity, closer cooperation on counter-terrorism, multilateral institutions, and migration and mobility.
The two leaders also agreed that the 15th India-EU Summit should be held at an early date.
Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution
MSP Operations during Kharif Marketing Season 2020-21
In the ongoing Kharif Marketing Season  2020-21, Government continues to procure Kharif 2020-21 crops at its MSP from farmers as per its existing MSP Schemes.
Paddy procurement for Kharif 2020-21 is continuing smoothly in the procuring States & UTs of Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Telangana, Uttarakhand, Tamil Nadu, Chandigarh, Jammu & Kashmir, Kerala, Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh with purchase of over 288.24 LMTs of paddy upto 18.11.2020 against the last year corresponding purchase of 244.37 LMT showing an increase of 17.95% over last year. Out of the total purchase of 288.24 LMT, Punjab alone has contributed 199.97 LMT which is 69.37% of total procurement.
About 24.95 Lakh farmers have already been benefitted from the ongoing KMS procurement Operations with MSP value of Rs. 54420.51 crore.
Further, based on the proposal from the States, approval was accorded for procurement of 45.10 LMT of Pulse and Oilseeds of Kharif Marketing Season 2020 for the States of Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Telangana, Gujarat, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Odisha, Rajasthan and Andhra Pradesh under Price Support Scheme. Further, sanction for procurement of 1.23 LMT of Copra  for the States of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Kerala was also given. For other States/UTs approval will also be accorded on receipt of proposals for procurement of Pulses, Oilseeds and Copra under PSS so that procurement of FAQ grade of these crops can be made at notified MSP for the year 2020-21 directly from the registered farmers, if the market rate goes below MSP during the notified harvesting period in the respective States/UTs by the Central Nodal Agencies through State nominated procuring agencies.
Upto 18.11.2020, the Government through its Nodal Agencies has procured 60581.37 MT of Moong, Urad, Groundnut Pods and Soyabean having MSP value of Rs.327.79 Crores benefitting 35214 farmers in Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Haryana and Rajasthan as against the last year corresponding purchase of 41370.93 MT which is an increase of 46.43% for pulses and oilseeds.
Similarly, 5089 MT of copra  having MSP value of Rs.52.40 crore has been procured benefitting 3961 farmers in Karnataka and Tamil Nadu upto 18.11.2020 as against the last year corresponding purchase of 293.34 MT of copra. In respect of Copra and Urad, rates are ruling above MSP in most of the major producing States. The respective State/UTs Governments are making necessary arrangements for commencement of procurement from the date as decided by the respective States based on the arrivals in respect of Kharif, Pulses and Oilseeds.
Procurement operations of seed cotton  under MSP are going on smoothly in the States of Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Gujarat and Odisha. Till 18.11.2020 a quantity of 1733156 cotton bales valuing Rs. 5331.14 Crore has been procured benefitting 339946 farmers.
Prime Minister's Office
PM to address valedictory function of 2nd National Youth Parliament Festival on 12 January
Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi will address the valedictory function of the second National Youth Parliament Festival on 12th January 2021 at 10:30 AM via video conferencing. Three national winners of the Festival will also express their views during the event. Lok Sabha Speaker, Union Education Minister and Union MoS  for Youth Affairs & Sports will also be present on the occasion.
National Youth Parliament Festival
The objective of the National Youth Parliament Festival  is to hear the voice of youth between 18 and 25 years of age, who are allowed to vote and will join various careers in coming years, including public services. NYPF is based on the idea given by the Prime Minister in his Mann Ki Baat Address on 31st December 2017. Taking inspiration from the idea, the first NYPF was organised from 12 January to 27 February 2019 with the theme “Be the Voice of New India and Find solutions and Contribute to Policy”. A total of 88,000 youth participated in the program.
The second NYPF was launched on 23rd December 2020 through virtual mode. 2.34 lakh youth from across the country participated in the first stage. It was followed by State Youth Parliaments through virtual mode from 1 to 5 January 2021. The finals of the second NYPF will be held in the Central Hall of the Parliament on 11th January, 2021. 29 National winners will get an opportunity to speak before the National Jury comprising of Ms. Roopa Ganguly, MP, Rajya Sabha, Shri Parvesh Sahib Singh, MP, Lok Sabha and Shri Prafulla Ketkar, eminent journalist. The top three winners will get an opportunity to speak before the Prime Minister in the valedictory function on 12th January.
National Youth Festival
National Youth Festival is celebrated every year from 12th to 16th January. 12th January being the birth anniversary of Swami Vivekananda, is observed as National Youth Day. This year, NYPF is also being organized along with the National Youth Festival.
The objective of the National Youth Festival is to bring youth of the country together to showcase their talents; provide them an arena, by creating a mini-India, where youth interact in formal and informal settings and exchange their social and cultural uniqueness. It is also to promote national integration, spirit of communal harmony, brotherhood, courage and adventure. The basic aim is to propagate the spirit, essence and concept of Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat.
Due to COVID-19, the 24th National Youth Festival is being held in virtual mode. ‘YUVAAH – Utsah Naye Bharat Ka’ is the theme of this year’s festival, which suggests, the youth bring alive the celebration of New India. The opening ceremony of the 24th National Youth Festival and the closing ceremony of 2nd National Youth Parliament Festival will both take place on 12th January, 2021 in the Central Hall of Parliament. Closing ceremony of the 24th National Youth Festival will take place in Dr. Ambedkar International Centre, New Delhi on 16th January, 2021.
Ministry of Commerce & Industry
Project Monitoring Group, DPIIT reviews 374 high impact infrastructure projects in FY 2021-22
Government of India has prioritized the timely completion of large-scale Infrastructure projects keeping infrastructure development as the central pillar of growth and socio-economic advancement of the country. With this vision in mind, the Project Monitoring Group  was instituted which is currently housed in Invest India, Ministry of Commerce and Industry.
PMG is a unique institutional mechanism to facilitate resolution of issues in infrastructure projects with investments upward of ₹ 500 crores primarily by way of conducting regular review meetings with States and Central Ministries. Additionally, with the deployment of milestone-based monitoring of projects on the PMG portal in November 2021, project reviews have become more holistic, combining both issue resolution and milestone-based monitoring to anticipate delays in projects, mitigating time and cost overruns and identifying agencies/authorities responsible for delays.
At present, PMG is monitoring 1,362 under implementation projects with total anticipated investment of approximately INR 47.55 lakh crore spanning across key sectors like Road, Transport and Highways, Railways, Petroleum and Natural Gas, New and Renewable Energy, etc. Under the guidance of senior officers from DPIIT, in FY 2021-22, 787 new projects with an investment value of INR 19.6 lakh crore have been brought on PMG for monitoring. And 44 projects with an investment value of INR 1.25 lakh crore have been commissioned.
PMG has been convening regular review meetings between project proponents, State Governments and Union Ministries to accelerate project implementation through expeditious resolution of issues. Since April 2021, PMG has organized 30 review meetings with nearly all State Governments and Central Ministries. With the co-operation and active participation of the State Governments and Ministry Officials, 374 projects with a value of approximately INR 17 lakh crore have been reviewed during these meetings. As a result of regular reviews, 568 issues in 248 projects worth INR 12.20 lakh crores have been resolved.
Some marquee projects where pending issues have been resolved include: BharatNet, North East Gas Grid, Sivok Rangpo New Rail Line, and Jagdishpur - Haldia & Bokaro - Dhamra Pipeline Project .
For more information on PMG, kindly visit: pmg.dpiit.gov.in.
Ministry of Women and Child Development
Unutilised Money Under ICDS Scheme
A statement showing unutilized money under Supplementary Nutrition Programme  of Anganwadi Services under Integrated Child Development Services Scheme by the States/UTs during the last three years is given below:
|
|

|
|
Sl. No.
|
|
State/UTs
|
|
Status of untilised money under Supplementary Nutrition Programme Component under ICDS Scheme
|
|
2016-17
|
|
2017-18
|
|
|
|
Unspent Balance
|
|
Excess Expenditure
|
|
Unspent Balance
|
|
Excess Expenditure
|
|
2018-19
|
|
1
|
|
ANDHRA PRADESH
|
|
377.4
|
|
-
|
|
2176.58
|
|
-
|
|
Unspent Balance/Excess expenditure for F.Y 2018-19 will be calculated after receiving all the UCs/SoEs from the State/UT.
|
|
2
|
|
BIHAR
|
|
681.3
|
|
-
|
|
-
|
|
6237.58
|
|
3
|
|
CHHATTISGARH
|
|
-
|
|
3025.09
|
|
2819.86
|
|
-
|
|
4
|
|
GOA
|
|
-
|
|
293.43
|
|
4.48
|
|
-
|
|
5
|
|
GUJARAT
|
|
-
|
|
10261.15
|
|
484.26
|
|
-
|
|
6
|
|
HARYANA
|
|
1592.26
|
|
-
|
|
340.36
|
|
-
|
|
7
|
|
JHARKHAND
|
|
NIL
|
|
-
|
|
NIL
|
|
-
|
|
8
|
|
KARNATAKA
|
|
-
|
|
10786.76
|
|
6000.25
|
|
-
|
|
9
|
|
KERALA
|
|
-
|
|
2680.60
|
|
-
|
|
0.58
|
|
10
|
|
MADHYA PRADESH
|
|
-
|
|
11051.77
|
|
-
|
|
847.44
|
|
11
|
|
MAHARASHTRA
|
|
-
|
|
36764.94
|
|
-
|
|
17292.99
|
|
12
|
|
ODISHA
|
|
-
|
|
8761.71
|
|
2957.67
|
|
-
|
|
13
|
|
PUNJAB
|
|
862.5
|
|
-
|
|
4473.51
|
|
-
|
|
14
|
|
RAJASTHAN
|
|
-
|
|
5991.98
|
|
-
|
|
1728.90
|
|
15
|
|
TAMIL NADU
|
|
-
|
|
2243.17
|
|
-
|
|
24.78
|
|
16
|
|
TELANGANA
|
|
-
|
|
54.39
|
|
-
|
|
875.11
|
|
17
|
|
UTTAR PRADESH
|
|
-
|
|
5420.19
|
|
51576.91
|
|
-
|
|
18
|
|
WEST BENGAL
|
|
-
|
|
23603.79
|
|
-
|
|
13626.87
|
|
19
|
|
DELHI
|
|
3387.81
|
|
-
|
|
3287.52
|
|
-
|
|
20
|
|
PUDUCHERRY
|
|
N.R
|
|
-
|
|
N.R
|
|
-
|
|
21
|
|
HIMACHAL PRADESH
|
|
NIL
|
|
-
|
|
0.01
|
|
-
|
|
22
|
|
JAMMU & KASHMIR
|
|
4913.87
|
|
-
|
|
7230.65
|
|
-
|
|
23
|
|
UTTARAKHAND
|
|
-
|
|
3819.69
|
|
-
|
|
1522.13
|
|
24
|
|
ANDAMAN & NICOBAR
|
|
NIL
|
|
-
|
|
NIL
|
|
-
|
|
25
|
|
CHANDIGARH
|
|
NIL
|
|
-
|
|
NIL
|
|
-
|
|
26
|
|
DADRA & NAGAR HAVELI
|
|
NIL
|
|
-
|
|
NIL
|
|
-
|
|
27
|
|
DAMAN & DIU
|
|
NIL
|
|
-
|
|
NIL
|
|
-
|
|
28
|
|
LAKSHADWEEP
|
|
NIL
|
|
-
|
|
NIL
|
|
-
|
|
29
|
|
ARUNACHAL PRADESH
|
|
485.87
|
|
-
|
|
599.28
|
|
-
|
|
30
|
|
ASSAM
|
|
4320.6
|
|
-
|
|
14440.89
|
|
-
|
|
31
|
|
MANIPUR
|
|
1008.83
|
|
-
|
|
1920.88
|
|
-
|
|
32
|
|
MEGHALAYA
|
|
-
|
|
1243.53
|
|
-
|
|
67.94
|
|
33
|
|
MIZORAM
|
|
460.88
|
|
-
|
|
399.28
|
|
-
|
|
34
|
|
NAGALAND
|
|
-
|
|
97.78
|
|
577.42
|
|
-
|
|
35
|
|
SIKKIM
|
|
173.61
|
|
-
|
|
300.45
|
|
-
|
|
36
|
|
TRIPURA
|
|
193.63
|
|
-
|
|
-
|
|
293.23
Note: N.R- Not reported by the State Government.
This information was given by the Minister of Women and Child Development, Smriti Zubin Irani, in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha today.
Ministry of Finance
Auction for Sale  of ‘6.18% GS 2024’, Auction for Sale  of ‘7.57% GS 2033’, and Auction for Sale  of ‘7.16% GS 2050’.
The Government of India has announced the Sale  of  ‘6.18 per cent Government Stock, 2024’ for a notified amount of Rs 12,000 crore  through price based auction,  ‘7.57 per cent Government Stock, 2033’ for a notified amount of Rs 11,000 crore  through price based auction, and  ‘7.16 per cent Government Stock, 2050’ for a notified amount of Rs 7,000 crore  through price based auction. GoI will have the option to retain additional subscription up to Rs 2,000 crore each against any one or more of the above securities. The auctions will be conducted by the Reserve Bank of India, Mumbai Office, Fort, Mumbai on May 15, 2020  using multiple price method.
Up to 5% of the notified amount of the sale of the stocks will be allotted to eligible individuals and Institutions as per the Scheme for Non-Competitive Bidding Facility in the Auction of Government Securities.
Both competitive and non-competitive bids for the auction should be submitted in electronic format on the Reserve Bank of India Core Banking Solution  system on May 15, 2020. The non-competitive bids should be submitted between 10.30 a.m. and
11.00 a.m. and the competitive bids should be submitted between 10.30 a.m. and
11.30 a.m.
The result of the auctions will be announced on May 15, 2020  and payment by successful bidders will be on May 18, 2020 .
The Stocks will be eligible for “When Issued” trading in accordance with the guidelines on ‘When Issued transactions in Central Government Securities’ issued by the Reserve Bank of India vide circular No. RBI/2018-19/25 dated July 24, 2018 as amended from time to time.
Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers
“Chemicals” sector has huge potential for growth- Shri Gowda.
Union Minister of Chemicals & Fertilizers Shri D.V. Sadananda Gowda has said that it is good time to invest in India when the Government is focusing self-sufficiency in domestic production.
Shri Gowda was addressing a webinar on “Specialty Chemical” Organized by Department of Chemicals & Petrochemicals and FICCI. Minster today officially launched “ India chem2021” Which will be held from 17to19 th March 2021.
Minister said “Specialty Chemicals” is one of the areas where huge potential for growth lies. The past couple of decades have seen a significant shift in the manufacturing of chemicals, particularly the specialty chemicals from EU and North America, to Asia.
The Indian Chemical and Petrochemical industry have huge potential to play a significant role a by 2025, the sector can alone contribute $300 billion to the GDP as compared to $ 160 billion at present.
Shri Gowda added that India is looking forward to incentivize manufacturers, through Production Linked Incentives  and development of State of Art infrastructure facilities, to set up entire value chain of drug production in upcoming three bulk drug parks in India.
Ministry of Health and Family Welfare
India’s steady trend of Very High Recoveries continues
More than 93 thousand recoveries registered in the last 24 hours
Recoveries More than 5 times Active Cases
With a very high number of COVID patients recovering every single day, India’s steady trend of posting high level of recoveries continues.
India has recorded 93,420 new recoveries in the last 24 hours. With this, the total number of recoveries are 48,49,584.
With the increase in daily recoveries, the Recovery Rate has also sustained its upward trend. It currently is positioned at 82.14% today.
India has maintained its top global ranking in total recoveries with such high successive single day record numbers.
As India records more recoveries than the new cases, the gap between Recovered Cases and the Active Cases is continuously widening.
The Recoveries are more than 5 times Active Cases.
The recovered cases  exceed the active cases  by nearly 39 lakh .
This has also ensured that the active caseload accounts for merely 16.28% of the total positive cases. This has sustained on its steady declining path.
Following the national lead, 24 States/UTs are also reporting higher number of new recoveries than the new cases.
10 States/UTs account for nearly 73% of the New Recovered cases.
Maharashtra has maintained this lead with 19,592 new recoveries.
These sustained encouraging results have been made possible with the Centre-led proactive and calibrated strategy of TEST TRACK TREAT with a sharp focus on ‘Chase the Virus” approach. States/UTs have effectively identified positive cases at an early stage through high & aggressive levels of countrywide testing. This has been supplemented with prompt surveillance & tracking to identify the contacts to curb spread of the infection.
The Centre has issued Standard of Care protocol to ensure uniform and high quality medical care for those in home/facility isolation and hospitals. These have been upgraded periodically drawing from the emerging global and national evidences. The Union Government is supporting the efforts of the States/UTs through technical, financial, material and other resources.
Ministry of Micro,Small & Medium Enterprises
RDSO and CII announce collaboration to host link of Expression of Interest uploaded on RDSO website for vendors.
Kolkata December 19, 2018
Indian Railways has taken big initiatives to promote Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises . It is also doing a great job in technology upgradation and inviting the vendors to come up with new, suitable and adoptable technologies, said Dr. Lakshmi Raman, Executive Director of Research Designs & Standards Organization , the research arm of Ministry of Railways here today. He said, aiming at the ease of doing business, Railway Minister and railway officials have been holding vendor meets across the country to welcome them to register online. Speaking at the CII MSME Conclave-Public and Private Procurement held by the Confederation of Indian Industries , Dr. Raman said that RDSO has launched New Online Vender Registration System to make systems and procedures digital and transparent. The system was evolved after Minister of Railways, Shri Piyush Goyal undertook comprehensive review of the functioning of the RDSO. Dr. Raman said, this new system provides major improvements and paradigm shifts in the registration system from the earlier system. Public access to the information, expeditious process completion with defined timelines, simplification of procedures, round-the-year services, availability of all related information on RDSO Website, constant monitoring at all levels, reduction in cycle timelines, regular updation of online data, user friendly interface etc. are the hallmarks of the new system, he added and informed that there are huge opportunities for MSMEs in the country. The growth of MSMEs is crucial for India’s economic development and support of the organized and formal sectors like railways will help them unleash their true potential, he stated.
During the event, new collaboration between CII and RDSO was announced wherein CII will host a link of Expression of Interest uploaded on RDSO website, inviting all the industries to register for any of the 640 items, controlled by RDSO.
Cabinet
Cabinet approves Memorandum of Understanding between India and Saudi Arabia on cooperation and Mutual Assistance in Customs matters
The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has approved the signing of Memorandum of Understanding between India and Saudi Arabia on cooperation and mutual assistance in Customs Matters.
The Agreement will help in making available, reliable, quick and cost effective information and intelligence for the prevention and investigation of Customs offences and apprehending of Customs offenders.